Icarus Theatre’s production of Walden currently playing in the Theatre Centre’s BMO Incubator is an intimate and intricate presentation of a bold and inspiring text.

Amy Berryman’s script (here receiving its Canadian premiere) is my favourite kind of script, one that is accessible and enjoyable on a blind first viewing but also makes me want to write academic essays about its deeper layers. “Sibling Rivalry: how the inherent competition of the family unit shapes individualism”; “Ghosts of Patriarchal Power: gender dynamics within feminist texts”; “In Archie Bunker’s House: political polarization and the domestic drama”.

A vaguely near-future setting captures now both politically and personally as a pair of mismatched twins confront the Sartrean torture of a sisterhood of shared dreams, the pain of incompatibility with a loved one’s loved one, and the alienation of choosing a life that the person who once knew you best believes you never wanted.

Delicate direction guides the text without crowding it and director Erik Richards’ excellent work extends to the set and sound design that (paired with Sruthi Suresan’s rich lighting) brings the outdoor setting to life as a shimmering reminder of what we have that’s worth protecting.

An exciting young actor out of NTS, Oshen Aoun superbly balances a very tricky role, casually disarming but with charisma pushed right up to the line of dangerous. As the lynchpin sisters, Emily Anne Corcoran never quite settles in to the naturalism of the production but Charlotte Dennis delivers a performance for the ages, blistering with pent-up emotion but steadied by the discipline of her character’s hardened athletic and scientific backbone. In the play’s most impactful scene, Dennis’ Cassie Meisners a line back at her sister, whiplashing its meaning without altering a word. It’s a moment of perfect symbiosis between writer and performer, something neither party could execute without total faith in the other.

I’ve seen more great work in the Theatre Centre Incubator this year than in any other venue. A reliable home for mid-size independent companies, the small house with its strange footprint and noise leakage issues is living up to its role as an, ahem, incubator for the next generation of great art makers in Canada. I can’t wait to see what’s next in that space and for these artists.